Conceptualizing and Confronting Inequity: Approaches Within and New Directions for the “NNEST Movement”

Abstract

This article examines inequity as conceptualized and approached within and through the non-native English speakers in TESOL (NNEST) “movement.”11 Within the TESOL International Association, NNEST stands for “Non-native English speakers in TESOL” (NNEST Interest Section [IS], 2014b NNEST Interest Section. (2014b). Homepage. Retrieved from http://nnest.asu.edu/. [Google Scholar]). The NNEST movement refers to the critically-oriented groundswell of scholarship and professional activity addressing inequity and the status of “non-native” English speaking teachers, extending beyond the confines of organizational affiliation. Through discussing the TESOL-specific institutionalized movement, the authors conceptualize and frame the contents of this paper in a manner that extends beyond organization-specific activities. The authors unpack critical approaches to the NNEST experience, conceptualized via binaries (NS/NNS; NEST/NNEST). The authors then explore postmodern and poststructural approaches to identity and inequity that problematize dichotomies, and the implications such approaches might have for addressing inequity and cultivating inclusivity in English language teaching.